NFL
Why is Deebo Samuel wearing No. 1 this season? The reason behind the 49ers’ WR’s jersey number
The 28-year-old South Carolina native will sport a new number on his jersey this season after ditching his old No. 19.
San Francisco’s Deebo Samuel is one of the most dynamic and productive offensive wide receivers in the league, and his contract reflects his value and importance to the franchise.
As the 49ers made their way to the Super Bowl final, only to lose to Kansas City, along the way, the 28-year-old finished the season with 60 receptions for 892 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns, as well as rushing for 225 yards. His versatility and explosiveness in the wide receiver position saw him named to the All-Pro and Pro Bowl teams in 2021.
Samuel, who was drafted in the second round (36th overall) by the Niners back in 2019, quickly established himself as a fan favorite and a leader in the locker room and initially signed a four-year contract with the San Francisco 49ers in July 2019 but in 2022 signed a three-year extension worth $71.55 million (up to $73.5 million with incentives), with $58.1 million guaranteed. That will keep him in California until 2025.
Jersey switch
Deebo fans will have to fork out again for new jerseys this season though after the wide receiver decided to make a switch to his number ahead of the 2024-25 season and will now sport the No. 1 number for the 49ers.
When he played college football at South Carolina, Deebo wore the No. 1 but wide receivers weren’t able to wear single-digit numbers in the NFL when he was drafted in 2019 according to existing regulations. That ruling was relaxed ahead of the 2021 season, allowing receivers to wear any number between 1-49 as well as 80-89.
Following Jimmie Ward’s departure from the team in 2022, Deebo decided to take the vacant No. 1 but it took over a year to implement due to NFL mandates stating that players have to buy the full inventory of merchandise with their jersey number if they request an immediate number change.
The player’s number change is reflected in his Instagram account 1deebosr but his TikTok and X (Twitter) accounts still make a reference to the number nineteen (19problemz).